Staten Island Advance/Mark SteinBrian Moffett, of New Springville, lost his dog, Molly, two weeks ago on Rockland Avenue. She was discovered by Lauren Fair, who was traveling to work when she spotted the pup.

NEW SPRINGVILLE -- She may have been late for work, but this Oakwood resident was in the right place at the right time.

On Sept. 8, while en route to her job on South Avenue, Lauren Fair came across something she hadn’t expected.

“A dog ran in front of my car and I almost hit it,” she said of a year-old pug shepherd mix darting up and down Rockland Avenue, weaving in and out of traffic.

As she drove toward Richmond Avenue, she stopped her car in the middle of Rockland and attempted to chase the dog down.

“It was crazy,” she said, noting her windows were open and the car was running.

Ms. Fair saw the dog head down a side street after it almost got hit several times, she said. She ran back to her vehicle and followed the animal.

When she neared it, she opened her car door, and lo and behold, the animal didn’t hesitate.

“The dog jumped right in the car and gave me a kiss,” she said, adding that she was talking to the dog like it was a person.

“Please tell me where you live!” she shouted at the animal. “I was going crazy.”

While some may be amazed, Ms. Fair said it’s routine for her to chase down pets that got away.

“That’s how I am. Whenever I see a dog, I make my boyfriend drive around,” continued Ms. Fair. “I love dogs.”

She said she once chased a dog around Midland Beach for four hours.

“And I got it,” the Oakwood resident said, noting that she has squeaky toys in her trunk to get the job done.

After securing the dog, she took it to Staten Island Veterinary Group on Victory Boulevard in Travis. The dog had little to identify itself, except for a microchip that ultimately came in handy.

Ms. Fair said the office called the owner, who apparently had been searching for his pet for two hours. She said if they couldn’t contact the dog’s owner, she would have stayed with the dog for as long as she could.

“I didn’t want them to take her to a shelter,” said Ms. Fair.

The office and Ms. Fair eventually got in touch with dog owner Brian Moffett, a New Springville resident who three times this summer had to chase down his beloved dog, named Molly Ringwald.

Moffett explained his pet finds exits on his property.

“She works on it,” he said. “I can’t help it. I was driving around looking all over for her.”

Moffett calls the dog “a runner,” and said he feared her being struck by a car.

The Grilling King of Westerleigh, as Moffett is known, was thrilled to get the phone call from the vet.

He couldn’t believe Ms. Fair found his dog, whom he also refers to as his baby.

“It was beyond great. This young lady took her time — she was late to work — and she took her to a vet,” he said. “Thank God that she did that.”